Tyre Mechanical Services
What are the services offered by your local BTC?
The services offered by your local Bridgestone Tyre Centre are all about ensuring you get the maximum benefit from the Bridgestone tyres fitted to your vehicle.
Some of these services include
- Setting the correct tyre pressures for your vehicle
- Balancing your wheels and tyres correctly
- Wheel aligning your vehicle
- Rotating your wheels and tyres when necessary
Correct Air Pressures
Why?
Setting and maintaining the correct air pressures is the first step to ensuring you get optimum performance and life from your tyre.
What Could Happen?
Over inflation reduces the ability of the tyre to absorb road shocks resulting in a much harsher ride. In fact excessive over inflation may lead to impact fracture or other casing failures. Over inflation will also cause excessive wear of the centre of the tyre. This will result in premature removal of the tyre
Under inflation allows excessive flexing of the tyre, this allows excessive internal heat to build up, eventually weakening the casing and causing damage. Under inflation will also cause excessive wear on the shoulder of the tyre resulting in premature removal. Heavy steering and poor handling will also be a result of under inflation. Excessive pressure on the shoulder area will increase wear and reduce stopping distance
Balancing Your Wheels
Why?
Safety is the main reason for balancing the wheels and tyres on your vehicle. Balancing will help ensure a smooth, vibration free ride as well as improving tyre life.
What Could Happen?
When the wheels on your car have an imbalance the most notable effect is that the steering wheel moves up and down in your hands or the seat vibrates. Either of these two can be extremely frustrating and especially fatiguing on a long trip. This may result in the driver's judgement being impaired and a mishap resulting. A vibration that is excessive may result in some suspension damage if the cause of the vibration is not corrected for a long period of time. As the tyre and wheel assembly is vibrating the contact pressure of the tyre on the road varies. This variation in contact pressure can cause irregular tyre wear, which will intern result in premature tyre removal.
When?
The wheels should be balanced when new tyres are fitted, any time that the tyre is removed from the rim and at regular intervals to take into account any variation in tyre balance from irregular wear
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Wheel Aligning Your Vehicle
Why?
Correctly wheel aligning your vehicle will ensure that it drives straight down the road. Correct wheel alignment will also ensure that the tyres on your vehicle wear evenly and are not removed prematurely as a result of irregular wear generated by poor wheel alignment.
What Could Happen?
If any of these angles are out of specification the tyres may not roll down the road evenly. This will cause the tread face of the tyre to scrub against the road surface accelerating tyre wear and promoting uneven wear of the tyre tread. Uneven wear results in premature removal of the tyre. In addition the vehicle may pull in one direction, be difficult to steer and fuel economy will suffer.
When?
Your vehicle should be wheel aligned when you have new tyres fitted, if components in the front or rear suspension have been replaced, if the vehicle has hit anything eg kerbs etc and at regular intervals throughout the tyres life. Your Bridgestone Tyre Centre will able to inspect the tyres fitted to your vehicle and advise you as to whether a wheel alignment is required.
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Rotating the wheels on your vehicle
Why?
The tyres on your vehicle should be rotated to ensure their optimum life is achieved.
What Could Happen?
If the tyres are not rotated regularly the tyres may wear rapidly or unevenly meaning that many thousands of kilometres of life are not achieved and the tyres are removed prematurely. The tyres may also get very noisy as an irregular pattern may be generated.
When?
Tyres fitted to passenger vehicles should be rotated at least every 10000km. There are situations where lower intervals are required eg 5000km for high performance tyres, continuous hills driving, heavy towing etc. Your Bridgestone Tyre Centre can best advise you of the most suitable rotation method and interval for the tyres fitted to your vehicle
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This information is for use as a guideline but for further information contact your tyre dealer.